Harry b



March 9 1926.

WW "H" W, W

HIS ATTORNEY F'IG.2.

H. B. STROHL CLAMPING DEVICE Filed July 3, 1925 Patented Mar. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY LB. STROHL, OF SIDNEY, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ANDERSON BODYCOMPANY, OF SIDNEY, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CLAMPING DEVICE.

Application :filed July 3, 1925.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY B. S'rnonn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Sidney, in the county of Shelby, in the State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Clamping Devices, ofwhich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in clampingdevices, and has 0 particular reference to clamps for holding the endsof a metal sheet when it is stretched by a forming die.

It is the principal object of my invention to provide a simple,economical and etlicient clamp for gripping the ends of a metal sheetand tightly holding them when the sheet is stretched by such apparatusas a forming die. The ends of the metal sheet may be easily insertedstraight into the clamps, and

pulled straight out afterthe sheet is formed,

as against the more laborious and inconvenient method of inserting themfrom the side.

The advantages of my clamp weigh heavily against other ,known ones,since the labor of inserting an end of the sheet straight into the clampis reduced to the minimum, and it is not necessary, as in other clamps,to hammer them loose to release the sheet after it has been formed. Thisreleasing operation alone has required the labor of as many as five men,as against that of one or two who may easily pull the ends of the sheetstraight out of my clamps.

My invention contemplates the use of two parallel, spaced clampingmembers that are recessed along their adjacent faces to receive ahalf-round shaft which, when turned into the slot between the members,will tenaciously engage the end of a metal sheet inserted straight downbetween them, to hold it the tighter, the harder the pull that isexerted upon it.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevational view of aforming apparatus employing my clamps for holding the ends of the metalsheet being stretched. Figure 2 is a perspective view of one of myclamps, partly in section. Figure 3 is a cross sectional view takenthrough the clamp on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 before the half-roundgripping shaft is turned into the space between the parallel members.And Figure st is a cross sectional view taken through the clamp on theline 4-4 of Figure Serial No. 41,449.

2, showing the end of a metal sheet being tightly gripped within it.

Referring to the accompanying drawings for a detailed description of myinvention, the numerals 1 and 2 designate two parallel members such asmetal bars that are spaced a short distance apart. In the presentinstance these members 1 and 2 rest side by side upon supporting beams 3that are mounted at their middle portions upon the bottom part. of aforming apparatus 4. The members 1 and 2 are held a sutiicient distanceapart by spacer plates 5, 5 to permit the end of an article such as ametal sheet 6 to be easily inserted straight into the slot providedbetween said plates and the adjacent faces of the members 1 and 2. Thelatter members are held together by bolts 7, 'Z and tic-yoke bands 8, Swhich pass around them near their ends and around an anchor shaft 9below. On each side of each band 8 are two bolts 10, 10, the upper onespassing through the upper spacer plates 5, and the lower ones passingthrough the lower spacer plates 5. The lower spacer plates 5,5 arethicker than the upper ones because they project into a recess 11 whichis formed in the inner face of the member 2 from one end thereof to theother for a purpose soon to be described. (See Figure 3.)

Formed in the inner face of the member 1 and extending from one endthereof to the other opposite the recess 11 in the member 2, is a recess12 that is semi-circular in cross section to receive the half-round partof a shaft 13. Substantially one-half of the. recess 12 is above, andone half below, the horizontal plane in which the recess 11 be gins.(See Figures 3 and 4 Bolted to the ends of the members 1 and 2 are pilotplates 1/1, 14, each one of which being provided with a round holethrough which a round end of the shaft 13 projects. At each end theshaft 13 terminates in asquared portion 15 to receive a lever 16 bymeans of which the shaft may be easily turned to project the lower partof its half round portion 13 into the recess 11 of the member 2 totightly engage the end of the sheet 6 inserted straight down in thespace between the members 1 and 2 as shown in Figure 4. The metal sheet6 is preferably folded or turned over at its ends, as indicated inFigure 4, to permit the lower edges of the half round part 13 of theshaft 13 the better to grip them when great upward pressure is appliedto the sheet 6 by the formingdie 17 of the forming apparatus lillustrated in Figure 1, or by any other forming or stretching means. Itis thus seen that it is unnecessary to insert the ends of the metalsheet 6 in the clamps from the side, but that they may be readily passedstraight down into the space between the adjacent members 1 and 2, andremoved therefrom, by one or two men as against the labor of a muchlarger number where clamps requiring the insertion and removal of thesheet ends from the side are used.

When an end ofl'he metal sheet 6 is passed far enough down between themembers 1 and 2 to be engaged iuunediately above its turnedover portionby the lower edge of the halt? round part 1.3" of the shaft '13, thelever 16 pulled to bring that edge of the shaft into tight engagementwith the sheet end, after which the tenaciousness with which the end ofthe sheet is held. by tl i clamp will be in. proportion to the pressureexerted upon it by the forming die. sheet end from the clamp is easilyeffected by drawing the lever 16 in the opposite direction to turn thehalf-round portion lfiiflof the shaft l3out ofthe space between themembore 1 and 2, whereupon the end of the sheet may be pulled straightup from that space with little effort.

Having described my invention, 1 claim:

1. A clamping device comprising two parallel members with a sheetreceivin space between them, one of said members having its inner faceformed with a semi-circular recess and the other one of said membershaving its inner face formed with a recess opposite the semi-circularone in the first member, a shaft having a half-round portion rotatablein the semi-circular recess, and means for turning said shaft to bringone edge of its half-round portion into engagement with the end of asheet inserted into the space between said members, to press it firmlyinto the second recess, for the purpose specified.

2. A clamping device comprising two par- The removal of the revasvaallel members with a sheet receiving space between them, one of saidmembers having its inner face formed with a semi-circular recess and theother one of said members having its inner face formed with a straightrecess whose top is in substantially the same horizontal plane as thecenter of the semicircular recess of the first member, a shaft having ahalf-round portion rotatable in the semi-circularrecess, and means forturning said shaft to bring one edge of its half-round portion intoengagement with the end of a sheet inserted into the space between saidmembers, to press it firmly into the straight recess of thesecondmember, for the purpose specified.

3. A clamping device comprising tivoparallel members with a sheetreceiving space between them, pilot plates connected to the ends of sadmembers, one of said members having its inner face formed with asemicircular recess, a shaft having a half-round portion rotatable insaid recess, said shaft being circular beyond its half-round portion,

each pilot plate being forn'ied with a hole through which a circularportion of said shafts projects, and means on an outer end of said shaftfor turning it to bring one edge of its half-round portion intoengagement with the end of a sheet inserted into the space between saidmembers, for thepurp'ose specilied.

t. A clamping device comprising two parallel members, upper and lowerspacer plates between said members at their ends to provide a sheetreceiving space between them and said members, one of said membershaving its inner face formed with a sen1i-circular recess between theupper and lower spacer plates, a shaft haviiig a half-round portionrotatable in said recess, and means applied to one end of said shaft forturning it to bring one edge of its half-round portion into engagementwith the end of a sheet insorted in the space provided between saidmembers and the spacer plates, for the purpose specificd.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day of July,1925.

HARRY B. STROHL.

